PokemonGO!

Where to find Pokemon!

PokemonGO was introduced on Wednesday, July 6, and since has taken over cities across the world with players of all age running around searching for virtual cartoon characters.
The map above was created by a PokemonGO user, and shared on Reddit. Check it out!

Southport Art Festival

The festival will showcase the work of more than 75 of the city’s most diverse artists who work in a variety of mediums, including oil, acrylic, watercolor, jewelry, sculpture, photography, glass and mixed media. Attendees can look forward to seeing Chicago-based standout artists, edgy photographers and abstract painters. In addition to supporting the arts and viewing incredible artwork that is available for purchase, festival guests also will have the opportunity, through live art demonstrations and booth chats to speak one-on-one with the artists.

Restaurants in the Southport Corridor area will be open for business, serving up summer favorites.

BenFest 2016

Info from the BenFest website: This year’s BenFest has something for every age! Come join us for three days of family fun including great bands, cuisine from local restaurants, activities for the kids and a chance to win some great prizes. This year’s Grand Prize Drawing is a cash prize for $10,000.

Get started supporting BenFest 2016 now! Become a sponsor, volunteer or purchase your entry and activity wristbands ahead of time through advanced purchasing (new this year). Click here to get started!

St. Benedict Parish BenFest is conveniently located on the northside of Chicago in the North Center neighborhood and can be reached via CTA buses (Irving Park or Western Avenue Routes) and the Brown Line El.

The Main Entrance to BenFest is located at 2215 West Irving Park Road. There are also additional entrances located at the 3900 blocks of North Bell Street and Leavitt Street.

Travel Alert: Leavitt closed south of Irving Park Road

Windy City Smokeout

Line up includes Old Dominion, Chase Rice, Billy Currington, Frankie Ballard, Corey Smith, Big & Rich with special guest Cowboy Troy, Phil Vassar, Jessie James Decker, Whiskey Myers, Walker Country and Whiskey Jam perform at the annual fest, which also features beer and barbecue vendors.Read more here!

Celebrate Clark Street World Music Festival

This festival is one of the last independent street festivals in Chicago that is locally managed and organized by a community organization – Rogers Park Business Alliance.

The festival reflects the unique diversity in Rogers Park by presenting music from all four corners of the world encouraging audiences to dance and experience local, national and touring bands.

The festival provides two live music stages, food from local restaurants, beer, wine and micheladas from local bars, interactive entertainment throughout the festival area, an Art Lot, kids’ activities and especially a meeting space for the community. This information and more on their website!

Traffic Alert: Clark Street will be closed all weekend between Morse and Estes

Chicago Open Air

It’s that time of year again! Chicago Open Air is right around the corner! It’s July 15th through July 17th at Toyota Park. You don’t want to miss this three day festival of rock, craft beer, and man food. Get your tickets before they sell-out!

CTA and Public Transit Weekend Alerts

RED, GREEN, PINK, BLUE LINES
July 15 – 17, Friday through Sunday

Increased Capacity and More Frequent Service

How does this affect my trip?Red Line:Friday through Sunday, daily — Longer trains will operate between 95th/Dan Ryan and Howard until 11:59 p.m. On Sunday, longer trains will begin operating from Howard earlier, at 5:00 a.m..

Saturday and Sunday, daily — Longer trains will operate between Harlem/Lake and Ashland/63rd – Cottage Grove from 11 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.Pink Line:Fri — Longer trains will operate between 54th/Cermak and the Loop from 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. Trains will run every 12 minutes from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday, daily — Longer trains will operate between 54th/Cermak and the Loop from 11:00 a.m. to 11:59 a.m. on Saturday, and 7:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.on Sunday.

Boarding Change, Delays between Pulaski and WesternHow does this affect my trip?
Board/exit all trains on the Midway-bound side of the platform at the Kedzie station.

Trains in both directions will operate on the same track between Pulaski and Western, resulting in minor delays.

Why is service being changed?We are performing track maintenance to ensure that trains continue to operate safely along the Orange Line.

RED LINEJuly 15 – 189:00 p.m. Friday to 4:00 a.m. Monday

95th-bound Trains Bypass Jarvis Thru Loyola Stations

How does this affect my trip?95th-bound trains will not stop at Jarvis, Morse, or Loyola stations.

For service from these stations, take a Howard-bound train to Howard and transfer to a 95th-bound train.

For service to these stations, take a 95th-bound train to Granville and transfer to a Howard-bound train.

Allow extra travel time.

Why is service being changed?
We are performing track maintenance to ensure that trains continue to operate safely along the Red Line.

Traffic Restrictions & Road Projects

Union Pacific Railroad to Temporarily Close IL-176

From TravelMidwest.com: The Union Pacific Railroad will be closing the railroad crossing on IL-176 east of US-41. The closure is necessary to replace and widen the existing railroad crossing. During this time, the Lake County Division of Transportation will reconfigure the North Shore Bike Path at the railroad crossing by creating a separate railroad crossing of the bike path. The work will begin Monday, July 25 at 6 a.m. and is scheduled to reopen to traffic in the early evening of Saturday, July 30.

Click for larger map.

Detour Route: IL-43 to IL-137 to IL-131.

Submit an Event to Jen

What's on your agenda this weekend? Send it over in an email, and it's just might pop up on Jen's A-Jenda and the Big John Howell Show!